Inter went into the contest at San Siro a point adrift of Roma, who host UC Sampdoria on Sunday, with only four games remaining so could ill-afford to take their foot off the pedal following their 3-1 victory over FC Barcelona in midweek. However, they started sluggishly and fell behind on five minutes when Simone Tiribocchi sprang the offside trap and rifled in his finish.

The champions levelled after 24 minutes when Diego Milito finished off a counterattack with a nonchalant lob over Ferdinando Coppola and 11 minutes later they completed the turnaround when Samuel Eto'o crossed for Sulley Muntari to score. Cristian Chivu's thumping 30-metre strike off the post – his first league goal since April 2006 – put the seal on the victory.

Third-placed AC Milan failed to close back to within six points of their city rivals after they succumbed 3-1 at US Città di Palermo. The hosts flew out of the blocks with Cesare Bovo and Abel Hernández both scoring inside 18 minutes.

The Rossoneri were more purposeful after the restart and reduced their deficit through Clarence Seedorf (55) but there was to be no comeback against a side unbeaten at home in the league this season. Fabrizio Miccoli added a third with 21 minutes to play to lift the Rosanero into fourth, a point above Sampdoria.

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